


I'll Be Here When You Wake Up

by iamsnowwhite



Category: The 100 (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-15
Updated: 2015-12-15
Packaged: 2018-05-06 20:44:41
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,122
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5430209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/iamsnowwhite/pseuds/iamsnowwhite
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Bellamy gets hurt, he has a bit of memory lost and forgets he and Clarke broke up. Not knowing what else to do, Octavia gives her a call and Clarke plays along. Anything to make sure Bellamy is okay.</p>
            </blockquote>





	I'll Be Here When You Wake Up

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote most of this in the middle of the night and it's unbeta'd so you can blame any mistakes on me.

Three days. The three most stressful days of Octavia's life. More stressful than planning her wedding by a fucking long shot.

She sits by his bed for almost every minute of it. Lincoln tries to get her to come home, get some rest. But she's all he has. She's his sister, and he has no one else but her anymore.

The fall was bad, like really bad. Her dumbass brother was running and slipped on the ice, hitting his head against the ground. They _removed_ part of his skull and _froze_ it. They explained the whole thing to her, but she wasn't paying much attention. She just wants Bellamy to be okay.

On that fourth day he wakes up. He's extremely confused, which the doctors said would happen. But he remembers who Octavia is so she counts that as a small win.

The next thing he does is ask for Clarke.

"Where is she?" he demands.

"Bellamy she's gone..." Octavia tells him gently. Does he not remember?

"I want her here. I want my girlfriend."

She can't tell him... He's obviously having a little trouble with his memory, and she can't crush him like that. She can't tell him that they broke up two weeks ago. She can't remind him of that pain. Not when he's lying in a hospital bed recovering from brain surgery with a hole in his head.

So she plays along.

"I'll call her, okay? I'll go do that right now," she tells him. She steps outside of his room and into the hallway, taking a few deep breaths before dialing Clarke's number.

"Octavia?" she says on the other end, sounding confused. "Is everything ok?"

"Not exactly. It's Bel, he's... He fell and it's bad. He thinks you're still dating and he wants you. He started to get angry, so I told him I'd call you..." Octavia says, knowing her voice sounds desperate and like she's about to break because she is.

"Oh god... Is he ok?"

"They had to take out a piece of his skull or something... He just woke up and wanted you."

"What hospital? I'll be right over," Clarke replies quickly.

"We're over at Walden," Octavia tells her. "Clarke, you don't have to do this."

"Are you kidding? Of course I do," she pauses. "Just because we broke up doesn't mean I don't still care about him. If he's injured and thinks I'm his girlfriend, then I'll pretend to be his girlfriend until he gets better."

"Thank you," Octavia breathes. She really didn't want to go back in there and tell Bellamy that Clarke wasn't coming. This is huge, Clarke is literally her saving grace right now.

"It's no problem. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

\---

It is a problem. A big problem. But she can't do that to Bellamy or Octavia. He needs her so she'll be there.

She gets dressed, brushes her teeth, and hops into her car.

The breakup was explosive. They fought all the time, it was no big deal. They're both passionate people and most of the time their fights meant nothing, hell they did it for fun sometimes. But this one was different. It was loud and they screamed at each other, trying to get their point across. It was rash, but final. Bellamy told her to leave, that they were done. She expected him to call her after a while and they'd make up, but he didn't. So they were done. Broken up. She'd lost the only good thing she'd ever had.

So yes she is still hurt, but there isn't any part of her that would say no to this. Bellamy, for some reason, thinks they're still together. So no matter how much it hurts her, she'll be there for him.

The drive to the hospital is one she's made many times. Walden is where he mother used to work before she got that chief of staff job at the Phoenix hospital on the other side of town.

A nurse directs her to his room and Octavia meets her outside the door, telling her what to expect. She hugs her friend because they haven't seen each other in a while, then she goes into his room.

"Princess," he says, happily.

She smiles at him, a real smile too. Because she's happy to see him. Pulling up a chair, she sits beside his bed and takes his hand in hers. His room in the ICU is small. She recognizes all the machines from hearing her mother explain them five hundred times. There is a bandage wrapped around his head and a helmet covering that, the hair that wasn't shaved pokes out all over the place. It makes Clarke just a little bit happy.

"Hey Bel, how're you feeling?" she asks.

"Better now that you're here."

Clarke smiles at him again, feeling like someone is squeezing the life out of her heart.

She's unsure of whether or not she still has feelings for him. She was mad for the longest time. But it does hurt for it to be like this. However, _her_ feelings don't matter here. He is the one who has part of his skull waiting in a freezer for the time when it gets to be reattached to his head. He is the one who had brain surgery and is laying in a hospital bed. She can push away her hurt for a while.

He talks to her like nothing happened and she tries to do the same. Octavia comes in to tell him that she's headed home, and he reassures her that he's fine. He's with Clarke now, he tells her. Octavia gives Clarke a thankful look before leaving.

"She looks tired," Bellamy notices after Octavia leaves.

"She's been with you all this time," Clarke tells him.

"Were you here? While I was asleep? Octavia said I was out for three days."

"Yeah. I was here," she lies. "Octavia sent me home last night to get some sleep. That's why I wasn't here when you woke up." He seems satisfied with that answer and offers her a smile. "I was worried about you, Bel."

At least that's not a lie.

"Sorry to make you worry, Princess..." he says, running his finger up and down her arm. He remembered that calms her down.

"You don't need to be sorry," she says sternly. "You need to rest and get well so you can get out of here."

"Well the doctors say I gotta take it easy when I get out of here, so don't get too excited, Princess," he says, making her laugh in spite of herself.

"Yeah because that helmet is just so sexy."

"Oh just the sexiest," he says, his eyelids drooping.

"You tired?" she asks.

"No," he lies.

"You should rest. I'll be here when you wake up," she promises.

"You will?"

She nods and lightly squeezes his hand, "I will. Now sleep."

"Bossy," he mumbles with a smirk before closing his eyes.

Once he falls asleep, Clarke pulls out her phone and calls Raven. It doesn't look like she'll be leaving here any time soon, and she had plans with Raven for dinner.

"Hey Griffin, what's up?" Raven says upon answering the phone.

"Hey Rae... I'm gonna have to cancel our plans for tonight," Clarke tells her.

Raven laughs, "You finally got a date?"

"I guess you could say that..." Clarke says with a sigh. She puts her hand over her eyes and closes them tightly, trying not to let any tears fall.

"Is everything ok, Clarke?"

"Yeah, everything is fine. I'll talk to you tomorrow alright?"

"Ok... Stay Griffin."

"Stay Reyes," Clarke says before hanging up the phone.

Clarke looks to Bellamy who is sleeping peacefully and sighs. Everything came back to her so naturally when she talked with him. She even found herself feeling relaxed, well as relaxed as she can be when Bellamy is this hurt.

For her sake, she hopes he starts remembering soon. But she will play along for as long as he needs her. He doesn't deserve any more pain in his life.

\---

Bellamy wakes up just after Clarke returns from getting herself some coffee. She is extremely glad he didn't wake up while she was gone because, judging from what Octavia told her, he would have freaked out if he woke up and she wasn't there.

It's been a few days since Octavia called her. Clarke comes straight to the hospital everyday after work and stays until Bellamy falls asleep at night. Most of the time, she stays even after that, wanting to make sure he's really okay before she leaves. She returns home most nights after midnight.

Bellamy loves looking at her student's projects when she brings them in so she can grade them. He loves having her around and seems to be doing pretty well. He is always smiling, having his girl around makes him happy. But Clarke seems to always be on the edge of tears. The slightest thing would send her over the edge, but she never lets Bellamy see. She'll quickly excuse herself to the restroom and get it all out before returning to that chair by his bed.

She hopes he doesn't notice how tired she looks, because she can tell.

When they talk, falling right back into their old ways, she almost forgets that this isn't real. She goes right back to the Clarke she was when they were together. The happy Clarke, the one who joked and laughed. Sometimes she wishes it was real. Parts of her want them to be together again. Other times she finds herself wishing he would get better so he would know the truth.

There is a small flicker of hope, part of her that holds on to the hope that he'll remember. Remember what happened between them and take it back. At some point he will come back. The current Bellamy will return and that hope wants him to realize his mistake.

But she also realizes the possibility that he won't. There is a very real chance that he'll come back, thank her for what she's done, and ask her to leave once more.

She doesn't think about that. Not when she's around him. She doesn't think of any of it as a matter of fact. She pushes away her feelings and is there for him, giving him what he needs. Reflecting on her feelings and worrying about the near future is a problem for when she gets home at night. And that's why she's so tired.

Octavia stops by sometimes after work, and Bellamy is always happy to see her. She gives Clarke the same look every time. One of thanks and gratitude, as if she's saying that she can't thank Clarke enough for what she's doing.

The doctors come in often, asking him questions. They tell Clarke and Octavia that his more recent memories should be coming along any day now. They're confident he will 'return to normal' soon. They also say that they should be able to reattach the piece of his skull soon as well. And while he does look good in his helmet, the girls are ready for that to happen. It means progress.

Raven tells Clarke that she's crazy for doing this. She thinks that Clarke and Octavia should just tell Bellamy the truth, that it isn't worth all the pain it's causing Clarke. But they can't do that, they can't break his heart. In his mind he still loves Clarke, they can't just rip that away from him.

Clarke has a day off of work for a three day weekend, and decides to go out for breakfast with Raven before heading to the hospital.

They greet each other outside of the restaurant and head inside together. Clarke hasn't seen Raven since before Bellamy's fall.

"Are you going to see Bellamy today?" Raven asks, sipping her coffee.

Clarke nods and does the same, "Yeah, he needs me there." Raven rolls her eyes. "Don't be like that. He does need me."

"You need you, Clarke. You look terrible, you aren't sleeping-"

"That doesn't matter, Raven. Bellamy matters here. I can give him a few weeks of my time. You can't kick a dog when it's down."

Raven sighs and places her hand on top of Clarke's, "I'm looking out for you here, Clarke. You're my best friend and I hate seeing you like this."

"I know... But you know me, I always have to save everyone."

"Your fatal flaw."

"Could be worse," Clarke says.

"Yeah you could be a druggie. Or a cheater," Raven says and they both laugh.

They eat their food while making light conversation. Clarke finds that it's nice to hang out with Raven again. It's good to be able to joke around without that feeling of fear that comes from thinking about Bellamy remembering.

After they finish their meal, Clarke says goodbye to Raven and heads over to the hospital. Octavia is there when she arrives, but is just leaving to go to work.

"He's tired," Octavia whispers to Clarke on her way out. Clarke nods in understanding and walks to her chair.

"Good morning," Clarke says with a smile. "It's so different seeing you in the morning on a weekday."

"It's nice. The more of you I get, the better," he grins.

"You look tired, Bel."

"I'm not," he insists. "I want to see you I want to talk to you, I don't want to sleep."

"Bellamy, you can't do this, okay? You need to sleep sometimes. You know I'm always here. I will always come when you need me." That last statement shocked her by how true it was. How much she meant it.

He sighs a big sigh to show her what an inconvenience this is, "Fine... I'll take a nap. But you're staying here."

"Or course. I'll even hold your hand."

"Well aren't I privileged?" he jokes and she laughs. His smile brightens at the sound. Without thinking, she leans forward to kiss him lightly on the lips.

It's something so simple, so gentle and familiar. Something that a couple would do. Clarke feels the grip she's grown so used to tighten around her heart.

It is then that she realizes that she still loves him. Before it was a teetering feeling, does she or doesn't she? Now she knows for sure. And she knows this will most likely end with her getting hurt.

Bellamy gives her a smile before falling asleep. Clarke covers her face with her hands and silently sobs. How did she let this happen? How did she fall for him again?

Bellamy is so needy and adorable when he's sick, and he's been that way during his stay in the hospital. Clarke loves the contrast from this Bellamy- the one who whines for a glass of water and is so vocal with his feelings- and the one he is when he's well. Usually he's the gentleman, he's strong and independent while still being there for her. And she loves him either way.

She quickly wipes the tears from her cheeks and composes herself. If Bellamy woke up she would have no explanation for why she was crying. She lays her head down on his bed and watches him sleep. After a while, she falls asleep too.

It's been a long few days since she's had a nice nap.

She wakes up hours later when she feels Bellamy move.

Quickly sitting up in her chair, she finds him looking at her with what she can only call love and appreciation. She's confused by the tears that threaten to spill onto his cheeks.

"Bel are you okay?" she asks him, her mind racing.

"Yeah... I'm fine. Other than the hole in my head," he offers her a watered down chuckle.

She places her hand in his and intertwines their fingers, concern evident on her delicate features.

"You don't have to do that," he whispers.

"What?"

"I said you don't have to do that. I remember Princess, I remember we broke up."

Clarke moves her hand as she tries to control her emotions. Her mind chooses now for one of her moments to come, Bellamy's alertness triggering every tear to well up behind her eyes. She swallows and blinks quickly to get rid of them, she cannot cry right now.

"You remember? That's great. I should really go call Octavia." She stands, fast. Almost knocking her chair over in the process. She makes her way out into the hallway before she breaks down. She sits on the floor with her knees to her chest. She sends Octavia a text saying that Bellamy is finally back before she continues crying.

Her dream is over. The fantasy they'd made is done and everything will now go back to the way it was.

Once she is alright enough to go back into his room, she stands and opens the door.

"Octavia will be here soon. I should probably head out," she tells him with a fake ass smile.

"Do you hate me that much?" he asks as she turns to leave.

She swallows thickly before turning to face him, "I don't hate you."

"You don't?"

"How could I?" she says, shaking her head.

"I'd hate me," he tells her.

"I've been here haven't I?"

She feels like crying again, but she doesn't.

"Clarke thank you-"

"Bellamy you don't have to thank me."

"Let me finish," he pleas. "I'm sorry, I really am. You deserve better than a guy who will break your heart after one stupid fight."

"Bel..." she breathes.

"But here I am, lying in a hospital wearing this stupid helmet, and I'm asking you to take me back."

"Of course you idiot," Clarke says as she sits back down and takes his hand again. She lets out a huge sigh of relief as her need to cry disappears.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

 _I should be asking you that,_ she thinks. "Yeah... Yeah it's just like I'm a bathtub that's overflowing and someone finally unplugged the drain." She shakes out her shoulders and looks at him with a smile. "I'm so glad you're back."

"Glad to be back, Princess."

They look at each other for a while, doing that thing they always used to do where they communicate more than words ever could with just their eyes.

Octavia walks in soon after and is so excited. Lincoln comes in a few steps after her, it's clear to everyone that Octavia ran in here while her husband opted to walk. She gives her brother a careful hug and tells him not to scare her like that again.

"Now where's the fun in that?" he says and everyone laughs.

"Clarke I owe you my life," Octavia says quietly as she gives her friend a hug in greeting.

Clarke shrugs, "Oh you don't have to do that. But those black heels you have, those will do."

Bellamy explains to his sister and brother-in-law that Clarke was dumb enough to take him back and she rolls her eyes as she pinches his toes.

"Hey I'm injured here," he reminds her, raising his eyebrows.

"I'm sorry, I must have been mistaken... When they took that piece of your skull they must've taken out your brain too," Clarke says.

"Oh she went there," Octavia chimes in.

Bellamy smiles as he looks at Clarke, "But they still left my heart. Just for you, Princess."

"You're adorable," she tells him.

"That's what I was going for, Princess."

"Well we're going to go before this gets even more awkward for us," Octavia says.

"We just stopped by to see you, Bellamy. We're glad you're doing better," Lincoln gives Bellamy a bro nod before hugging Clarke. The newlyweds exit the room, leaving Clarke and Bellamy alone once again.

"You know I owe you my life too, Princess."

"You heard that?"

He nods, "You really didn't have to come here for me. I can't imagine how all this must've made you feel..."

"I'd do anything for you, Bel. You were hurt and you needed me."

They talk for some time before the doctors come in to check on him again. They say that since he is himself again, he'll be able to be discharged soon. Under the watchful care of someone that is.

Clarke goes home that night and takes a nice hot bath, bubbles and all. She cries so hard that her head hurts and she's not sure if they're tears of joy, relief, pain, or all three. She's definitely glad that she won't have all that stress anymore and can already feel it lifting away.

After her soak in the tub, she starts cleaning her apartment. It was decided that when Bellamy is released from the hospital he will come live with her until he goes back for his next surgery. He can't go live with Octavia and Lincoln because they can't get the time off work to stay with him, but Clarke has winter break coming up and has all the time in the world.

She gathers all the stray paint bottles and ripped canvas off the floor and throws them into her studio. Which is just the second bedroom that she ripped up the carpet in and stuck her easel in the corner. She then cleans the kitchen which she should have done a long time ago because it is just gross in there. The dishes take her quite a while by themselves.

She is beyond happy that she gets to sleep at a semi reasonable hour and will be rested for work the next day.

\---

Octavia and Lincoln moved all of Bellamy's things into Clarke's apartment that day. They were just waiting for his doctor to come around with the discharge papers and he was good to go.

"You ready to go home?" Clarke asks him as they sit on his bed together.

"I'm ready for you to be my nurse," he says with a smirk.

"You think you're funny, don't you?"

"Oh I know I'm funny, Princess. And you love it."

"Cocky too... Remind me why I'm your girlfriend?" She turns her body so she can look him up and down from where she is sitting.

"You love me. No question about it."

She laughs, "Oh do I now?"

He kisses her cheek, the corner of her mouth, her lips, "Yep."

"Dammit, you're right... You got me, Bel," she says sarcastically. "I do love you, though."

"I love you too. Thanks for letting me crash with you."

"Anything for the man with the hole in his head," she teases.

"You know if we weren't together, this would be a great way to pick up chicks," he says.

She laughs and pats him on the shoulder, "Yeah I'm sure they'll be all for it until they see the dent in your head."

He's about to say something when his doctor walks in. He tells Bellamy and Clarke that he needs to be very careful and gives them all the warnings they know by heart and could recite from memory if need be. He then hands Bellamy the papers which he signs with a smile.

"I will see you back here for your next appointment, Mr. Blake," the doctor says before exiting the room.

Clarke stands from the bed and walks around to the other side to help Bellamy do the same. He loops his arm through hers and she helps him walk to the car.

"How are you feeling?" she asks as she pulls out of the hospital parking lot.

"Starving."

She rubs her hand down her face and groans, "Well we will have to pick something up because I forgot to go shopping."

What a way to start this off... She forgets to stock her fridge and pantry with anything other than boxed mac and cheese and pickles. She really should have gone shopping before Bellamy came home with her. Now he has to go with her when he's supposed to be resting.

"Clarke, don't stress about it. You forgot, it's okay," he says, sensing her quickening heart rate.

She takes a deep breath, "What do you want for dinner?"

"I'm so hungry anything will do."

"Geez you'd think that hospital didn't feed you," she laughs.

"Debatable."

She laughs once more before declaring that they're getting Chick-fil-a.

\---

Clarke quickly finds that it is extremely stressful taking care of a man with a hole in his head. He wears his helmet all the time, which is great because the doctor said some patients refuse and Clarke would probably have a heart attack if Bellamy started doing that. But even with the helmet, there is still only a layer of skin and his mess of hair between the outside world and his fucking brain. And it doesn’t really help that Bellamy thinks it’s funny. She would kill him if he hadn’t almost done that himself.

It is nice getting to spend time with him though. They spend a lot of time on Netflix, watching whatever horrible show or movie is in the ‘Top Picks for Clarke Griffin’ section. And Bellamy is very helpful when Clarke starts hanging Christmas decorations all over the apartment. He was very particular about where she placed each ornament on the tree, and very vocal about it too...

“So that was Octavia,” Clarke says as she plops down next to Bellamy on the couch. “And she said that she and Lincoln will be here around ten tomorrow.”

“Ugh that’s too early,” he whines.

“Well they have to be at Lincoln’s family party at two,” she explains. “And you shouldn’t be whining, you didn’t have to buy anyone presents this year and you’re probably going to get a lot of sympathy presents.”

He rests his head on her shoulder, “My life is your present.”

“Can I have the gift receipt?”

“Wow... Love you too, babe.”

She giggles, “Oh you know I’m kidding. I’m just hoping some of your sympathy presents will be food because Christmas is all about sweets and I am all about that.”

“I thought Christmas was about giving, Princess.”

“No,” she pats his knee. “It’s about chocolate. And white chocolate peppermint bark.”

“So you’d steal the sympathy presents of your boyfriend who, need I remind you, has a literal hole in his skull?” he asks, lifting his head to look at her.

“I mean I am selflessly taking care of said boyfriend in his time of need.”

He smiles and leans down a bit to kiss her, “And I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

“Me either.”

“Can you hand me my phone?” he asks, pointing to the dresser where his phone is plugged into the charger.

Clarke reaches for the phone, trying her hardest to not have to get out of the bed, and somehow manages to grab it without falling to the floor.

“Impressive,” he offers.

“Thanks.”

\---

When Bellamy wakes up the next morning, Clarke is holding up two dresses, seeming to decide which one to wear. She’s wearing a pair of black tights and he can see her hot pink panties underneath. She seems to settle on one of the dresses, placing it on the chair in the corner of the room before walking over to the side of the closet where Bellamy’s clothes are hanging. He smiles to himself as she bites her thumbnail, her eyebrows knitting together as she examines his clothes. Finally, she pulls out his red sweater and sets it next to her dress.

She nods to herself and Bellamy thinks that she may be the most adorable thing in the world.

It’s a while before she notices he’s awake. Apparently she too concentrated on getting ready. So he watches as she changes into a strapless bra, tugs on her dress, and sifts through the dresser until she finds his pair of khaki pants.

“Were you watching me?” she asks him when he finally sits up in the bed.

He nods.

“You haven’t changed a bit, have you?”

“Don’t think so.”

She throws the sweater and the pants at him, sticking her tongue out when he chuckles, “Put these on. Octavia and Lincoln will be here in half an hour.”

“Why are you dressing up for my sister? Pretty sure she’ll be wearing sweatpants like she does every Christmas...”

“We’re going to my mom’s after they leave,” she explains.

“What?” he whines. “Do we have to?”

She sighs, “It’s mandatory. She pulled the ‘it’s the holidays and you’re supposed to spend it with family’ card and she even just sounded so sad.”

Bellamy frowns. Abby never liked him and Clarke’s relationship with her mother is about as stable as an earthquake. And that’s putting it nicely. But Bellamy knows that Clarke hates disappointing her mom, and can they really say no to the woman on Christmas?

“By the way, I totally plan on using your current state as an excuse to get out of there when it starts to get awkward,” Clarke says.

“Sounds good to me.”

When Octavia gets to the apartment, Bellamy is surprised to see her in a pair of leggings and a giant sweater. That’s way more formal than either one of them have been on Christmas day, like ever.

Everyone exchanges gifts and they all eat breakfast before Octavia and Lincoln have to leave. They have to leave earlier than expected because it starts to snow and they know the roads will be crazy today without the added driving hazard.

After Clarke does her makeup (and Bellamy messes it up a little by making out with her) she helps him get dressed and they head across town to her mom’s giant ass house. Bellamy still cannot believe people even need houses this big. There is a sign down the road from her house that says ‘horse crossing’, seriously he does not get rich people.

They give each other a quick pep talk before walking up to the door and ringing the bell.

Marcus opens the door and tells Clarke how wonderful she look. He stares a moment too long at Bellamy’s helmet and he almost laughs.

“Clarke, you look beautiful,” Abby gushes as she steps into the front room to hug her daughter.

“Thanks mom, you look great too.”

Abby looks over Clarke’s shoulder at Bellamy and he sees the moment her smile becomes fake.

“Bellamy it’s so good to see you,” she says. “Glad to know you’re feeling better.”

“He wouldn’t let me decorate his helmet...” Clarke says with a sigh.

“Yeah because I really want to go in to the doctors in a few weeks with santa hat painted on my helmet,” Bellamy says to make her laugh.

They all settle into the living room and talk for a bit before Bellamy starts getting tired. He is exhausted a lot lately and Clarke has this weird ability to sense when it happens. He suspects she’s magic and just has a really strange superpower. She tells him she’s just a good caretaker. But he’s pretty sure it’s the magic.

“You getting tired?” she whispers to him.

“A little, but if you don’t want to leave it’s fine.”

She gives him an unimpressed look and he has to laugh.

“Did you really just say that to me?”

“Oh I forgot, you know what’s best for my health,” he jokes.

“Damn right I do, you stubborn ass,” she turns towards her mom and sighs. “We should probably head back home. He needs his rest.”

“Oh of course,” Abby says, standing to see them out.

Clarke pulls Bellamy off the couch just as he lets out a yawn, “Just a little bit tired my ass.”

\---

When they get back to the apartment, Clarke and Bellamy change into some pajamas (the ones Clarke bought specifically for Christmas, they have little reindeer all over them) and get into bed.

Clarke lifts Bellamy’s arm and wraps it around her shoulders, snuggling into his side. “You’re going to fall asleep in a few minutes aren’t you?” she asks.

“Probably.”

“That means I get to choose what we watch and you can’t say shit!” she says with a smile.

“Sure, Princess. Go ahead and watch your Doctor Who, but don’t be offended when I start snoring,” he warns.

“Just go to sleep.”

“You’re not gonna paint my helmet while I’m passed out, are you?”

She just looks away and turns on Netflix.

“Mmhmm, thought so,” he places a kiss to her temple before laying back on his pillow.

\---

After a month and a half living with his helmet- much longer than Bellamy or Clarke would have wanted- they finally schedule his surgery. Clarke is nervous as hell when he gets admitted into the hospital, this is brain surgery after all. But Bellamy tells her that everything will be fine, that this is the last step before everything goes back to normal.

“I think I’m gonna miss the helmet,” Clarke tells him. “It’s a good look for you.”

“I’m sure the bald patch I’m gonna have will be an even better look.”

“You’re hair is so fluffy, no one will even notice.”

His nurses come in to bring him to surgery and Bellamy notices Clarke take a deep breath.

“I’ll be here when you wake up,” she tells him.

Clarke calls Octavia after Bellamy goes into surgery and keeps her updated with everything the doctors tell her. When one of her nails starts to bleed from her biting it, she decides to call Raven hoping she can cheer her up.

“What’s up, my Griffin?”

“Oh you know, just plunging myself into a deep bit of worry. Typical Wednesday,” Clarke tells her.

“Bellamy’s in surgery?” Raven asks.

“Yeah,” Clarke says. “I know he’ll be fine, but...”

“You’re starting to feel like you did when you first went to visit him?” Raven finishes for her.

“Little bit.”

“This is Bellamy, he’s too stubborn to let a silly old surgery take him down.”

“You’re right... I’m just being ridiculous.”

“No you’re being Clarke Griffin. You worry about everyone, your fatal flaw remember?”

Clarke laughs, “Why couldn’t my fatal flaw be that I’m an alcoholic? I am such a fun drunk person. Worrying sucks.”

“Just take a deep breath and think about how cool a story this will make one day. Think of all your little Blake-Griffin children laughing at their dad for almost dying from slipping on some ice.”

“I’m pretty sure you’ll be laughing with them, Rae.”

“And so will you,” she says.

\---

Clarke feels herself relax a little when the doctors tell her the surgery went fine and that Bellamy should wake up in an hour or so. But she’s still freaking out as she sits by his bed. She brought a book to try and distract herself, but the words all blend together and she’s pretty sure she’s read the word ‘and’ about a hundred times before she finally closes the thing and sighs. This will be a long hour.

When his eyes finally start to flutter open, Clarke sits up in her chair and waits for him to fully wake up.

“Who are you?” he croaks after a minute.

She freezes and just stares at him, only about half sure that he’s messing with her.

“Just kidding, Princess.”

“You’re a dick,” she says with a laugh as she slaps at his leg.

“I told you I’d be fine,” he grabs her hand and laces his fingers through hers.

“Yeah now we just have to get you shoes with better grips so you don’t fall again.”

“As long as they’re cheap,” he says. “I’m going to be paying hospital bills until I die. Even from the grave this place will be taking my money I’m pretty sure.”

“Better to be in debt than to be dead.”

“Just barely, though.”

Octavia bursts into the room suddenly, rattling off apologies about not being here sooner. She stays for a while to hang out with Bellamy and Clarke.

It feels good for all of this to finally be over. In about a week or so, Bellamy will get to go home and they can all put this behind them. Clarke is definitely looking forward to that. She plans to never enter the hospital again, she’s sick of this place and how much it drains her. When she tells Bellamy this, he says that’s not really in her control. But she keeps her word. And a few years later, she has a home birth and Bellamy is pretty sure she does it just to spite him.

And it turns out Raven was right. Everyone laughs when they recall how clumsy Bellamy was and their daughter giggles every time she has to put on a helmet to ride her bike.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> So this was actually based on something that happened to my cousin earlier this year. When he told me the story I thought it was too cute and had to write about it.


End file.
